Barcelona odds on favourites to sign experienced international according to bookmakers

We spoke yesterday about reports which suggested that Barcelona were looking to further bolster their forward line with the towering Jerome Boateng.

The mooted price, of 39m Euros, seemed exceedingly high and Bayern boss Pepe Guardiola quickly moved to deny that the player would behoving. He was quoted in Marca as saying:

“I am 100 per cent sure Boateng will not leave Bayern”

Boateng probably won’t come to Barcelona then. But rumours persist that the club will purchase one more player for the defensive department this summer.

And reports in England have been intensifying about that player being Thomas Vermaelen of Arsenal. Some reports suggest that a bid has already been lodged by Barca for the player.

It seems that Manchester United and Barcelona could be targeting several of the same players this summer and Vermaelen is one of the names that has been mentioned in relation to both giants.

Manchester United had been favourites to sign the player but, with suggestions that Arsenal don’t want to sell to a Premier League rival, Barcelona have come in in the betting and English bookmaker SkyBet now has the Catalan club as odds on favourites to sign the player this summer, if he does leave Arsenal, at 4/11.

He does seem like a much more economical option than Boateng and one who would fit into the highly technical Barcelona way. At 28 he would bring authority and experience to a back line which looked dodgy at times last season.